Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)

I presume the Minister of State will confirm that it is the wish of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food that those new entrants that will acquire quota under this scheme will grow that enterprise and will in future milk trading opportunities increase their quota share. If that is the intention — nothing else would make sense because a quota of the size envisaged would not be economically viable in the long term — to take up the point made by Deputy Sherlock, it is foolish in the extreme of the Department, in the structuring of this scheme for new entrants, to penalise would-be new interests to dairying who, through their own initiative, have acquired quota through previous milk quota trading schemes but who received a derogation from product from the Department. I agree that anyone who has previously produced milk should be excluded but there are people who, when they saw this scheme coming, thought they would position themselves to have extra on top of what they could secure under that scheme by buying it under the milk quota trading scheme.

It is foolish, and I plead with the Minister of State to revisit the issue. He envisaged people would grow their quota after the allocation of the new entrants' amounts but those with the initiative to acquire quota prior to that date will be excluded from the scheme. It makes no sense. This is a handful of people who took a chance and hoped they would be approved under this scheme but who meet the criteria in all other respects. We are stifling their initiative to go out and acquire quota. It is foolish in the extreme.

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